METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CIoT DEVICE DATA TRANSFER

ABSTRACT

A non-access stratum (NAS) control protocol includes procedures for control plane cellular internet of things (CP-CIoT) service requests and attach requests. A user equipment (UE) in idle mode may transmit an NAS service request message including user data to a mobility management entity (MME) over the control plane. The MME extracts the user data from the NAS service request message and determines a type of the user data. The MME may forward non-IP data to a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) and forward IP data to a packet gateway.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/144,900entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CIoT DEVICE DATA TRANSFER filed Sep.27, 2018, to issue on Apr. 27, 2021 as U.S. Pat. No. 10,993,142, whichclaims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 toPCT/US2017/024742 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLoT DEVICE DATATRANSFER filed on March 29, 2017, which claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/314,768,filed on Mar. 29, 2016, the entire contents of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to network communication and,more particularly, to an apparatus and method for facilitating CellularInternet of Things (CIoT) device data transfer.

Description of Related Art

The following abbreviations are herewith expanded, at least some ofwhich are referred to within the following description.

3GPP 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project

AKA Authentication and Key Agreement

APN Access Point Name

CIoT Cellular Internet of Things

CN Core Network

CP Control Plane

CS Circuit Switched

DRB Data Radio Bearer

EHPLMN Equivalent HPLMN

EMM EPS Mobility Management

EPS Evolved Packet System

ESM EPS Session Management

GUTI Globally Unique Temporary ID

HPLMN Home PLMN

IE Information Element

IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IMSI International Mobile Subscriber Identity

MME Mobility Management Entity

MO Management Object

MTC Machine-Type Communications

NAS Non-Access Stratum

NB Narrowband

PDN Packet Data Network

PGW PDN Gateway

PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

PS Packet Switched

RAT Radio Access Technology

RRC Radio Resource Control

SCEF Service Capability Exposure Function

SGW Serving Gateway

SMS Short Message Service

UE User Equipment

Computers and computing devices are electronic machines used to storeand process information, which in this context is referred to as data.Just as purely mechanical devices are characterized by their individualcomponents and the interworking between them, computers arecharacterized by the interworking between their physical components,such as conductors and switches, and executable program instructions.The physical components of a computer and the executable programinstructions are often referred to as hardware and software,respectively.

Computing devices may be connected together to share data and resources,and to otherwise communicate with each other. A group of computersconnected together is usually referred to as a network. Networks may befixed or relatively fixed in membership, as in a home or businessnetwork. They may also be ad hoc, comprised of whatever devices happento be located and inclined in such a way as to begin communicating witheach other.

Computers and computing devices are electronic machines used to storeand process information, which in this context is referred to as data.Just as purely mechanical devices are characterized by their individualcomponents and the interworking between them, computers arecharacterized by the interworking between their physical components,such as conductors and switches, and executable program instructions.The physical components of a computer and the executable programinstructions are often referred to as hardware and software,respectively.

Computing devices may be connected together to share data and resources,and to otherwise communicate with each other. A group of computersconnected together is usually referred to as a network. Networks may befixed or relatively fixed in membership, as in a home or businessnetwork. They may also be ad hoc, comprised of whatever devices happento be located and inclined in such a way as to begin communicating witheach other.

Cellular telephone networks, sometimes referred to as PLMNs, originallyallowed mobile telephones to connect with each other and with fixedtelephones through a network. The PLMN, generally speaking, has anaccess portion and a core. The access network uses a dispersed array ofantennae for communicating with the mobile phones over a wireless,usually radio channel. Each antenna is connected to a base station thatin turn connects to the core network via one or more switches. The corenetwork has a high capacity and provides the infrastructure for mobilecallers to connect with each other and with other networks and thetelephones or other stations reachable through them.

Many cellular networks now permit many devices, including many computingdevices, to communicate via the network. Indeed, many UE 110 (userequipment) may be in reality computers that facilitate voicecommunications along with many other applications rather than simply atelephone. Such devices may include, for example, smart phones, tablets,watches, glasses and notebook computers. Through these devices, userscan not only connect with other but with the Internet, a worldwidenetwork of computer networks, to access a great variety of services suchas email, texting, and streaming audio and video.

Increasingly, many devices not traditionally associated with telephonyor computer networks are capable of discovering networks and makingnetwork connections. Such devices are used for a wide variety ofpurposes such as sensing environmental or physiological conditions andreporting them, keeping track of inventory and shipped items, locatingpersonal items and pets, and many more uses. For convenience, thesedevices will also be referred to as UE 110, even when used inapplication not associated with individual subscribers in the samemanner as, for example, mobile phones.

The network of all these devices is sometimes referred to as theInternet of Things (IoT). In many implementations, such devices may alsocommunicate through existing cellular telephone networks and this may bereferred to as the Cellular IoT (CIoT). Not unexpectedly, the presenceof so many of these devices poses challenges to the networks that musthandle the communication traffic.

UE 110 may communicate via a communication network in different ways.For example, a UE 110 may attach itself to the network using PDNconnectivity in the user plane, which is a common way for a UE 110 tosend and receive data. A UE 110 may also communicate using SMS messages.A UE 110 also communicates with the network in the control plane, forexample to send and receive messages relating to the setup andmaintenance of a communication session.

UE 110 s, and especially CIoT type UE 110 devices, may at times have theneed to transmit small amounts of data, for example simple statusreports. A solution is needed for sending this type of informationefficiently.

Note that the techniques or schemes described herein as existing,possible, or desirable are presented as background for the presentapplication, but no admission is made thereby that these techniques andschemes or the need for them were heretofore commercialized or known toothers besides the inventors.

SUMMARY

The following presents a summary of the disclosed subject matter inorder to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosedsubject matter. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of thedisclosed subject matter. It is not intended to identify key or criticalelements of the disclosed subject matter or to delineate the scope ofthe disclosed subject matter. Its sole purpose is to present someconcepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is discussed later.

In one aspect, an apparatus, comprises a wireless transceiver configuredto communicate with a network; and processing circuitry including atleast one processing device and at least one memory device. At least theprocessing circuitry or the wireless transceiver is configured to causethe apparatus to enter into an idle state without an establishedsignaling connection to the network; obtain pending user data fortransmission; insert the user data into a control plane service requestmessage; and transmit the control plane service request message to thenetwork using a control signaling protocol.

In another aspect, user equipment (UE) comprises a wireless transceiverconfigured to communicate with a network and processing circuitryincluding at least one processing device and at least one memory device.At least the processing circuitry or the wireless transceiver areconfigured to cause the apparatus to enter into an idle state without anestablished signaling connection to the network; obtain short messageservice (SMS) data for transmission; insert the SMS data into a controlplane service request message; and transmit the control plane servicerequest message to the network using a control signaling protocol.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the wireless transceiver is configured to cause the apparatus togenerate a subsequent downlink data indication and insert the subsequentdownlink data indication in the control plane service request message.The subsequent downlink data indication may indicate that no subsequentdownlink data is expected, or the subsequent downlink data indicationmay indicate that subsequent downlink data is expected.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the wireless transceiver is configured to cause the apparatus togenerate a service type indication; and insert the service typeindication in the control plane service request message. The servicetype indication indicates that the control plane service request messageis initiated for a mobile originating request.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the wireless transceiver is configured to cause the apparatus toinsert an indication of a user data type in the control plane servicerequest message, wherein the indication of the user data type indicatesat least IP data or non-IP data.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the wireless transceiver is configured to cause the apparatus toprovide a Radio Resource Control establishment cause and a call typeindication when sending the control plane service request message to thenetwork, wherein the Radio Resource Control establishment causeindicates mobile origination data and the call type indicatesoriginating calls.

In one or more of the above aspects, the processing circuitry or thewireless transceiver is configured to cause the apparatus to insert theuser data into the control plane service request message by insertingthe user data into a data container information element in the controlplane service request message.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the wireless transceiver are further configured to cause the UE togenerate a service type indication in the control plane service requestmessage.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the wireless transceiver are further configured to cause the UE toprovide a Radio Resource Control establishment cause and a call typeindication when sending the control plane service request message to thenetwork, wherein the Radio Resource Control establishment causeindicates mobile origination data and the call type indicatesoriginating SMS.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the wireless transceiver are configured to cause the UE to insert theSMS data into the control plane service request message by inserting theSMS data into a Non-Access Stratum data container information element inthe control plane service request message.

In another aspect, an apparatus comprises a network interface configuredto communicate with user equipment (UE) over a network using a controlplane signaling channel and processing circuitry including at least oneprocessing device and at least one memory device. At least theprocessing circuitry or the network interface are configured to causethe apparatus to receive a control plane service request message fromthe UE over the control plane signaling channel when the UE is in anidle state without an established Non-Access Stratum signalingconnection to the network; extract user data from the control planeservice request message; and forward the user data to another apparatusin the network.

In another aspect, an apparatus includes a network interface configuredto communicate with user equipment (UE) and processing circuitryincluding at least one processing device and at least one memory device.At least the processing circuitry or the network interface is configuredto cause the apparatus to receive from the UE a control plane servicerequest message including SMS data over a control plane signalingchannel, wherein the UE is in an idle state without an establishedNon-Access Stratum signaling connection to the network, extract the SMSdata from the control plane service request message and forward the SMSdata to another network node.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the network interface are configured to cause the apparatus toextract a subsequent downlink data indication from the control planeservice request message received from the UE.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the network interface are further configured to cause the apparatusto end a signaling plane session with the UE in response to thesubsequent downlink data indication indicating that subsequent downlinkdata from the UE is not expected.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the network interface are further configured to cause the apparatusto retain a signaling plane session with the UE in response to thesubsequent downlink data indication indicating that subsequent downlinkdata from the UE is expected.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the network interface are further configured to cause the apparatusto extract a service type indication from the control plane servicerequest message; extract a data type indication, when present, from thecontrol plane service request message; and when the service typeindication indicates a mobile origination request service type,determine to forward the user data based at least on the data type tothe another apparatus in the network.

In one or more of the above aspects, at least the processing circuitryor the network interface is configured to cause the apparatus toextracting SMS data from the control plane service request message byextracting the SMS data from a Non-Access Stratum data containerinformation element included in the control plane service requestmessage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure may be better understood, and its numerousfeatures and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art byreferencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the same referencesymbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified block diagram including selectedcomponents of an exemplary communication network configuration in whichembodiments described herein may be advantageously implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates a message flow diagram of a method according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram including a structure of a servicetype information element according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram including a structure of a devicemessage container element according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram including a structure of a flowidentity information element according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram including a structure of a releaseassistance information element according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a message flow diagram of a method according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a message flow diagram of a method according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a logical flow diagram of an embodiment of a methodfor CIoT services.

FIG. 10 illustrates a logical flow diagram of an embodiment of a methodfor CIoT services.

FIG. 11 illustrates a message flow diagram of an attach method 700according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram including a structure of a preferrednetwork behavior indication information element according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of a structure of a supportednetwork behavior information element according to one embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for anattach procedure for short messaging service (SMS).

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for anattach procedure for short messaging service (SMS).

FIG. 16 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method 800for an attach procedure for short messaging service (SMS).

FIG. 17 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method 800for an attach procedure for short messaging service (SMS).

FIG. 18 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method 800for a service request procedure for short messaging service (SMS).

FIG. 19 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of userequipment (UE).

FIG. 20 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of anexemplary MME.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Facilitating data transfer between a communication network andsoon-to-be-ubiquitous devices in the CIoT (Cellular Internet of Things)is expected to promote network efficiency and capacity and therebyreduce capital and operating costs. One challenge of CIoT is in generalto efficiently connect devices to the cellular network that only sendand receive small amounts of data, e.g. a few tens or hundreds of bytesper day. Such small data transfers create a disproportionate signalingoverhead. As a consequence, optimizations need to be specified to reducethe overhead that is required to establish and tear down a communicationchannel for small data transfers compared to broadband LTE data.

A number of embodiments of facilitating data transfer are disclosedherein. These embodiments are expected to be most advantageous whenapplied to small data transfers, for example a UE reporting its statusto a management server via the cellular network.

As mentioned above, CIoT devices other than cellular or mobile phoneswill also be referred to as UE. While in practice a network may inmanaging device access distinguish between, for example, cell phones andautonomous monitoring devices, the methods and apparatus described heremay be implemented to facilitate data transfers involving all types ofUEs.

Overview—CIoT EPS Optimization Service

Two types of optimizations for the cellular internet of things (CIoT) inthe evolved packet system (EPS) are described herein, the User PlaneCIoT EPS optimization and the Control Plane CIoT EPS optimization. InControl Plane CIoT EPS optimization, uplink data from the UE istransferred from the eNB (or other CIoT RAN) to the MME using asignaling radio bearer. The MME may then transfer the data via theServing Gateway (S-GW) to the Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW). Fornon-IP data packets, the data may be transferred to a Service CapabilityExposure Function (SCEF). Downlink data is transmitted over the samepaths in the reverse direction, e.g. from the MME to the UE using asignaling radio bearer. In Control Plane CIoT EPS optimization, there isno data radio bearer set up, because the data packets are sent in acontrol plane message on a signaling radio bearer instead. Consequently,Control Plane CIoT EPS optimization is most appropriate for thetransmission of infrequent and small data packets. The SCEF is a newfunction designed especially for machine type data. It is used fordelivery of non-IP data over the control plane and provides an abstractinterface for network services, such as authentication andauthorization, discovery and access network capabilities.

In User Plane CIoT EPS optimization, data is transferred over data radiobearers via the SGW and the PGW. Thus, it creates some overhead onestablishing the first RRC connection. However, in UP-CIOT EPSoptimization, an additional feature of RRC connection resume isprovided. The RRC connection feature allows for a more efficient resumeof an RRC connection rather than establishing a new RRC connection foreach data transfer.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram illustrating selected components ofan exemplary communication network configuration in which embodimentsdescribed herein may be advantageously implemented. Embodimentsdescribed herein may be implemented in various types of wirelessnetworks including, but not limited to, the Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network(UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), and/orLTE-Advanced (LTE-A) or other wireless networks. In one implementationin which the network is an LTE type network, the overlay access networkincludes an evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)102 connected to an evolved packet core (EPC) 104. The E-UTRAN 102includes at least one Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN)node B or eNodeB or eNB 106. The eNodeBs 106 are interconnected witheach other by means of an X2 interface 112.

The eNodeBs 106 provide an air interface (I/F) to user equipment (UE110) 110 including E-UTRA user plane (PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) protocols andradio resource control (RRC) protocols. The eNodeBs 106 are configuredto perform radio resource management (RRM) functions as well as radiobearer control, radio admission control, connection mobility control,dynamic allocation of resources to UE 110 s 110 in both uplink anddownlink. In an embodiment, the eNodeBs 106 are also configured toprovide the CIOT optimizations and functions described herein, includinga CIoT user interface (Uu) 120 to user equipment UE 110. In otherembodiments, different types of radio access networks (RAN) may beimplemented, e.g. such as a separate base transceiver station (BTS) andradio network controller (RNC). Thus, a base station (BS), basetransceiver station (BTS) or any type of RAN controller may perform thesame or similar functions as described herein with respect to an eNodeB106.

The eNodeBs are also connected by means of an S1 interface 114 to theEPC 104, and e.g., more specifically to a Mobility Management Entity(MME 116) 116 by means of the S1-MME 116 protocol 114, to a ServingGateway (S-GW) 118 by means of the S1-U protocol 122. When connected tothe EPC by S1 interface, the UE 110 is said to be in “S1 mode”. The S-GW118 communicates with a node including the SCEF capability 132 over anS5 interface 134. The S-GW 118 routes and forwards user data packets,while also acting as the mobility anchor for the user plane. The S-GW118 communicates with a Packet Gateway (P-GW) 130 over a T6a interface136. The packet gateway may be connected to a wide area network(Internet), application server, etc.

The MME 116 may include, for example, a combined logical node having anMME 116, a SGW, and a PGW. The MME 116 is a main control node for theLTE access-network providing signaling to the UE 110 s and in anembodiment employs Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The NAS is acontrol plane signaling protocol used to convey control plane signalingbetween the User Equipment (UE 110) and the Mobility Management Entity(MME 116) for an LTE/E-UTRAN access. The NAS procedures are grouped intwo categories: the EPS Mobility Management (EMM), and the EPS SessionManagement (ESM). The NAS protocols are described in more detail in 3GPPTS 24.301, Version 13.4 from December 2015 and entitled,“Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) protocol for Evolved Packet System (EPS),”which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

In order for a UE 110 and an MME 116 to exchange NAS messages with eachother, a signaling connection for exchanging NAS messages must beestablished between them. This connection is called EPS ConnectionManagement (ECM) connection. It is a logical connection consisting of anassigned or scheduled RRC connection between a UE 110 and an eNB, and S1signaling connection between the eNB and an MME 116. When an ECMconnection is established/terminated, the RRC and S1 signalingconnections are established/terminated as well. To a UE 110, anestablished ECM connection means having an RRC connection establishedwith an eNB for the MME, and to an MME 116 it means having an S1signaling connection established with the eNB for the UE. A UE 110 mayhave various states. The UE 110 may be in either an “EMM-Registered” or“EMM-Deregistered” state depending on whether the UE 110 is attached to,or detached from, the network. In addition, the UE 110 may have eitheran “EMM-Connected” or “EMM-Idle” state depending on whether a NASsignaling connection (i.e. ECM connection) is established or not.Likewise, the UE 110 may have either a “RRC-Connected” or “RRC-Idle”state depending on whether an RRC connection is established or not.

Modifications to the NAS protocol are described herein to include CIoTEPS optimizations. Generally speaking, a UE 110 may be said to supportCIoT EPS optimization when it supports control plane CIoT EPSoptimization or user plane EPS optimization or one or more other EPSCIoT optimizations described herein. For example, control plane CIoT EPSoptimization includes signaling optimizations to enable efficienttransport of user data (IP, non-IP or SMS) over control plane via theMME 116. User plane CIoT EPS optimization includes signalingoptimizations to enable efficient transport of user data (IP or non-IP)over the user plane.

A UE 110 supporting CIoT EPS optimizations supports control plane CIoTEPS optimization or user plane CIoT EPS optimization and one or moreother CIoT EPS optimizations when the UE 110 is in S1 mode. A UE 110that is attached for EPS services with CP-CIoT EPS optimization has beenaccepted by the network for supporting CIoT EPS optimizations andcontrol plane CIoT EPS optimization along with one or more other CIoTEPS optimizations. A UE 110 that is attached for EPS services with Userplane CIoT EPS optimization has been accepted by the network assupporting CIoT EPS optimizations and user plane CIoT EPS optimizationalong with one or more other CIoT EPS optimizations. A UE 110 that isattached for EPS services with CIoT EPS optimization is attached for EPSservices with CP-CIoT EPS optimization or attached for EPS services withuser plane CIoT EPS optimization.

Described herein is a manner of signaling to support UE 110 inrequesting CIoT services for data transmission and to support uplink anddownlink transmissions of a variety of data types, including SMS and IPand non-IP data. New information elements to support CIoT services arealso introduced.

Embodiment—Control Plane CIOT EPS Optimization Service when UE is inIDLE Mode

Currently it is not possible for a UE 110, for example a CIoT enableddevice, to transmit user data or an SMS message when the UE 110 is inidle mode. In idle mode (e.g., EMM-IDLE mode), no NAS signalingconnection (ECM connection) has been established with the MME. The UE110 has not been assigned the physical resources, i.e. radio resources(SRB/DRB) and network resources (S1bearer/S1 signaling connection) yet.To overcome this problem in CIoT, a UE 110 such as a CIoT enabled deviceis configured to transmit a control plane service request message thatmay include the user data over an unassigned or shared signaling radiobearer, e.g. a SRB1 for NAS messages using the dedicated control channel(DCCH). The UE 110 in EMM-IDLE mode can initiate the service requestprocedure and transmit the data in an information element in the controlplane service request message over a shared control channel or randomaccess channel. For example, the information element “ESM DATA TRANSPORTmessage” may include user data in the control plane service request. Theservice request message may be transmitted to the network prior toestablishment of an assigned ECM connection, e.g. using a sharedphysical uplink control channel or random access control channel (e.g.,using a random access channel (RACH) or uplink shared channel (SCH)control transport channel).

FIG. 2 is a message flow diagram illustrating a method 200 according toone embodiment. The control plane service request procedure usuallyestablishes an ECM connection (radio and S1 bearers) when user data orsignaling is to be transmitted by the UE 110. However, when a UE 110 inEMM-IDLE mode is attached for EPS services with CP-CIoT optimization,the service request procedure does not trigger data radio bearer and S1bearer establishment. Instead, the control plane service request messagemay be used to transmit a small amount of user data to the MME 116.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, UE 110, a CIoT enabled device, communicateswith MME 116 using the NAS protocol with CIoT EPS optimization. The UE110 is in an IDLE mode (EMM-IDLE mode) and is attached for CP-CIoT EPSservices. Thus, the UE 110 is configured for EPS services with controlplane CIoT EPS optimization. No ECM connection has been establishedbetween the UE 110 and the MME 116.

The UE 110 has pending IP or non-IP user data to transmit via a controlplane radio bearer, and so the UE 110 generates and transmits a servicerequest message 250. The service request 250 includes a service type,which is set to a value associated with a mobile device initiating aCIoT data transfer. It also includes the EPS bearer identity and acontainer IE that includes the CIoT data (e.g., an “ESM DATA TRANSPORT”message in the ESM message container IE). The control plane service typeof the service request message may indicate a mobile originatingrequest, such as a “mobile originating CIoT data transfer”,

In addition, the UE 110 includes in the service request 250 a releaseassistance information IE having a value to indicate whether downlinkdata transmission (for example, acknowledgements or responses to uplinkdata) subsequent to the uplink data transmission is expected. Aftertransmitting device service request 250, the UE 110 then enters (step255) the state EMM-REGISTERED.

In accordance with this embodiment, the MME 116 receives the deviceservice request 250. When the UE 110 is attached for EPS services withCP-CIoT optimizations and the service type information element in thedevice service request 250 indicates a mobile originating request, e.g.,a “mobile originating CIoT data transfer”, it enters the stateEMM-REGISTERED for the UE 110 (also represented by step 255). The MME116 then forwards (step 260) the IE container contents according to theEPS bearer specified in the service request message 250. For example,for non-IP data, the MME 116 may transfer the user data in the “ESM DATATRANSPORT” message in the ESM message container IE of the servicerequest over the S5 interface 134 to the SCEF 132. In anotherembodiment, for IP data, the MME 116 may transfer the user data in the“ESM DATA TRANSPORT” message in the ESM message container IE of theservice request over the T6a interface 136 to the P-GW 130.

Note that the PDN connection and SCEF connection are established duringthe EPS attach procedure based on the data type usage, the MME 116capabilities, and UE 110 configurations. The EPS attach procedure isdescribed in more detail herein below.

Note also that in an embodiment, when a UE 110 that is attached for EPSservices with CP-CIoT EPS optimizations initiates the mobile originatingCP-CIoT data transfer by sending a service request message 250 withservice type set to “mobile originating CIoT data transfer”, the RRCestablishment cause shall be set to mobile originating request, and thecall type is set to “originating calls” in the service request message.

In an alternate embodiment, the UE 110 may include in service request250 a service type having a value associated with a mobile originatingSMS transfer. In this embodiment, the SMS message is included in thecontainer IE in the service request 250, and a flow identity field isset to 0000 (and ignored). In this alternate embodiment, when a UE 110that is attached for EPS services with CP-CIoT EPS optimizationsinitiates the mobile originating CP-CIoT data transfer by sending aservice request message 250 with service type set to “mobile originatingSMS transfer”, the RRC establishment cause shall be set to mobileoriginating request, and the call type is set to “originating SMS”.

For Mobile originated CIoT data transfer (e.g., the RRC establishmentcause is set to mobile originating request) using Control plane CIoT EPSoptimization, the procedure is considered completed on the UE 110 sidewhen the service request message is transmitted successfully.

Upon receipt of the service request message 250, the MME 116 mayinitiate EMM common procedures, e.g. the authentication procedure andsecurity mode control procedure, described in 3GPP TS 24.301, Section5.6.1.3, dated December 2015. Once a current EPS security contextexists, until the secure exchange of NAS messages has been establishedfor the NAS signalling connection, the receiving EMM entity in the MME116 may process the service request message. In certain situation, theMAC included in the service request message may fail the integrity checkor cannot be verified, as the EPS security context is not available inthe network. The service request message may still be processed by theMME 116 even when the MAC fails the integrity check or cannot beverified, as in certain situations the MAC may be sent by the UE 110protected with an EPS security context that is no longer available inthe network.

The MME 116 may consider the service request procedure successfullycompleted when it receives the SERVICE REQUEST message from the UE 110and may also enter the state EMM-REGISTERED.

In an embodiment, the MME 116 releases the S1 connection when therelease assistance information element in the service request message250 indicates that subsequent downlink data is not expected. When therelease assistance information is not provided or indicates thatsubsequent downlink information is expected, the S1 connection betweenthe MME 116 and the UE 110 is retained.

In a preferred embodiment, the service request message 250, where amobile originated CIoT data transfer when the UE 110 is in EMM-IDLEmode, may include one or more of the values in the following table:

Information IEI Element Type/Reference Presence Format Length ProtocolProtocol M V 1/2 discriminator discriminator Security Security M V 1/2header type header type Data service request Message type M V 1 messageidentity Service type Device service type M V 1/2 NAS key set NAS keyset M V 1/2 identifier identifier XX EPS Bearer Id Flow identity M V 1/2XX Release assistance Release assistance M V 1/2 information informationXX CIoT device CIoT device M LV-E 5-n message message containercontainer D- Device properties Device properties O TV 1

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram including a structure of a servicetype information element according to one embodiment. In an embodiment,the device service type information element 300 may take the form shownin FIG. 3, and may apply the device type values shown in the followingtable:

Device service type value (octet 1) Device service type value Bits 4 3 21 0 0 0 1 mobile originating CIoT data transfer 0 0 1 0 mobileoriginating SMS transfer All other values may be reserved.

The purpose of the Device service type information element is to specifythe purpose of the service request procedure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram including a structure of a devicemessage container element according to one embodiment. In an embodiment,a CIoT device message container 310 may take the form shown in FIG. 4.The message container 310 is used for mobile originating CIoT device IPor non-IP data transfer or mobile originating SMS transfer. Thisinformation element is used to encapsulate CIoT data transferred betweenthe UE 110 attached for EPS services with CP-CIoT optimization and theMME 116. The contents of the CIoT device message container include thenon-IP or IP user data (e.g., the CIoT device message) in the controlplane service request or SMS data. In another embodiment, control planeservice request may include a message container 310 for SMS only dataand another message container 310 for IP/non-IP data. Since SMS data hasa different format, the service request message may include messagecontainers with different formats for the SMS data and the IP/non-IPdata.

In an embodiment, a flow identity information element 320 may take theform shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the flow identity informationelement 320 indicates an EPS bearer identity for routing the user data.As mentioned above, for SMS transfer (when device service type is set to“mobile originating CIoT SMS transfer”, the flow identity field 320 isset to “0000” and ignored.

In another embodiment, a release assistance information element 330 maytake the form shown in FIG. 6. The Release assistance informationprovides additional S1 connection release handling related informationto the MME 116. The release assistance IE may include the releaseassistance indicator (RAI) values in the following table:

Release assistance Indicator values (RAI) (octet 1) Bit 2 1 0 0 RAIinformation not provided 0 1 Subsequent downlink data (e.g.acknowledgements or response) not expected. 1 0 Subsequent downlink data(e.g. acknowledgements or response) expected Bits 4 to 3 of octet 1 arespare and may be coded as zero.

The MME 116 releases the S1 connection when the release assistanceinformation element in the service request message 250 indicates thatsubsequent downlink data is not expected. When the release assistanceinformation is not provided or indicates that subsequent downlinkinformation is expected, the S1 connection between the MME 116 and theUE 110 is retained.

Embodiment—MME 116 Initiated CP-CIoT Services when the Network has UserData Pending and the UE 110 is in EMM-IDLE Mode

The network may use a similar process to send information to the UE 110over the control plane using CP-CIoT services. FIG. 7 is a message flowdiagram illustrating a method 500 according to one embodiment. In theembodiment of FIG. 7, UE 110, a CIoT enabled device, communicates withMME 116. The UE 110 is EPS attached for CP-CIoT, and the MME 116 haspending user data for the UE 110. The MME 116 transmits a paging request510 to the UE 110. In an embodiment, the paging request includes a corenetwork (CN) domain indicator with a value corresponding to packetswitch “PS” from the network. In response to the paging request, the UE110 transmits a service request message 520 (similar to the servicerequest message 250 described herein). The UE 110 enters (step 530) thestate EMM-REGISTERED. The UE 110 may reset a service request attemptcounter (not shown) in case the service request attempt fails. Theattempt counter provides a number of failed attempts that the UE 110tries to send the service request message before aborting the procedure.

In accordance with this embodiment, when the MME 116 receives theservice request 520 and the UE 110 is attached for EPS services withCP-CIoT optimizations, it enters the state EMM-REGISTERED for the UE 110(also represented by step 530). The MME 116 then sends (step 540) thedownlink user data to the UE 110.

Embodiment—Service Request not Successful

In some instances, a service request is not successful. FIG. 8 is amessage flow diagram illustrating a method 600 according to oneembodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, UE 110, a CIoT enabled device,communicates with MME 116 by sending a service request 550 (e.g.,similar to service request 250). In this embodiment, the network doesnot accept the service request, and the MME 116 transmits a servicereject message 555. When the UE 110 receives the service reject message555, it enters the state EMM-DEREGISTERED and performs a new attachprocedure as described in more detail with respect to FIG. 9. There maybe several reasons for MME 116 to transmit a service reject to the UE110. For example, the service request message may fail the integritycheck and the UE 110 has only PDN connections for non-emergency bearerservices established or has no PDN connections established. In thiscase, the service reject message 555 may include EMM cause #9 “UE 110identity cannot be derived by the network” and keep the EMM-context andEPS security context unchanged.

For another example, if the service request for mobile originating CIoTdata transfer is rejected due to a lack of matching identity or contextin the network (due, for example, to network node failure or partialfailure, such as right after network node restart or reset), the servicereject message 555 may include the EMM cause IE, which can be set to EMMcause value to #9 “UE 110 identity cannot be derived by the network” orother cause values depending on the failure type.

As another example, if the service request for mobile originating CIoTdata transfer is rejected due to the circumstance that a network node(such as the MME 116) does not support CIoT control plane optimization,the service reject message may include an EMM cause IE, which can be setto EMM cause value to #43 “ CIoT optimization not supported”.

Embodiment—Control Plane CIOT EPS Optimization Service when UE 110 is inConnected Mode

FIG. 9 illustrates a logical flow diagram of an embodiment of a method650 for CIoT services. In this embodiment, the UE 110 is in a connectedmode or EMM-Connected mode and has an allocated ECM connection. Forexample, the UE 110 has been assigned physical resources, i.e. radioresources (SRB/DRB) and network resources (S1 bearer/S1signalingconnection).

When the UE 110 is in EMM-CONNECTED mode and attached for CP-CIoT EOSservices, the UE 110 may forward user data, such as an SMS or IP orNon-IP data, as an encapsulated NAS message. For example, when a SMSmessage needs to be transferred, the UE 110 may encapsulate the SMSmessage in an NAS message container IE of an UPLINK NAS TRANSPORTmessage (Step 655). Upon request from the SMS entity to send an SMSmessage, the EMM entity in the UE 110 initiates the procedure by sendingan UPLINK NAS TRANSPORT message including the SMS message in the NASmessage container IE. The UE 110 may then pass the NAS message to lowerprotocol layers (PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) for processing and transmission tothe MME 116 in a NAS transport message.

When the user data type is “IPv4” or “IPv6” or “non-IP”, the UE 110 mayformat the CIoT data container IE. In this case, the message PDN datatype field is set to “IPv4” or “IPv6” or “non-IP” as appropriate and aSubsequent Downlink Data Indicator (SSD-IND) is set to indicate whetherdownlink data transmission (e.g. acknowledgements or responses to ULdata) subsequent to the Uplink Data transmission is expected. Inaddition, an S1 Release Indicator (SSD-REL-S1) is set to indicatewhether the S1 connection has to be released when the downlink data isreceived. The data to be transferred may then be included in a CIoT datafield, and then encapsulate the CIoT data container IE in the genericmessage container IE of the uplink generic NAS Transport message withthe Generic Message Container Type set to “CIoT data message container”and pass the NAS message to the lower layer.

When the MME 116 receives the uplink NAS transport message with theGeneric Message Container Type set to “CIoT data message container”, theMME 116 forwards the user data (e.g. the contents in the NAS messagecontainer IE) at step 660. The forwarding action of the MME 116 variesaccording to the CIoT data type. When an SMS message is received in theUPLINK NAS TRANSPORT message (presuming the MME 116 supports SMS), theMME 116 may forward the mobile originated short messages to an SMS-IWMSCassociated to the SMS-SC as indicated by the UE 110.

When the data type is “IPv4” or “IPv6” or “non-IP”, the MME 116 maytransfer the user data using either PDN connection or SCEF connection.In addition, the MME 116 releases the S1 connection if a SubsequentDownlink Data Indicator (SDD-IND) indicates that downlink datatransmission is not expected. When a Subsequent Downlink Data Indicator(SDD-IND) indicates that downlink data transmission (e.g.acknowledgements or responses to uplink data) subsequent to the uplinkdata transmission is expected, the MME 116 may retain the S1 connection.Note that any PDN connections or SCEF connections are established duringan EPS attach procedure based on the Data Type usage, the MME 116capabilities and UE 110 configurations.

In this embodiment, if subsequent downlink data is expected by the UE110, and if S1 Release Indicator (SSD-REL-S1) is received in a previousuplink data message, the UE 110 indicates that the S1 connection needsto be released when subsequent downlink data is received. The MME 116releases the S1 connection after the MME 116 sends the subsequentdownlink data to the UE 110.

FIG. 10 illustrates a logical flow diagram of an embodiment of a method670 for CIoT services. CIoT may also be initiated by the network whenthe UE 110 is in EMM_CONNECTED mode. In an embodiment, the MME 116 maytransmit a downlink NAS transport message including user data to the UE110 (step 675). For example, the MME 116 may set the Generic MessageContainer Type to “CIoT Data message container” in a Downlink GenericNAS Transport message. Presuming that the Control Plane CIoT EPSOptimization is activated and the UE 110 is in EMM-CONNECTED mode, theMME 116 may encapsulate the user data (SMS or IP or Non-IP data)according to data type. If an SMS message is to be transferred, the UE110 may encapsulate SMS message in the NAS message container IE of theDOWNLINK NAS TRANSPORT message. If the type of the data to betransferred is “IPv4” or “IPv6” or “non-IP”, the UE 110 may format theCIoT data container IE by setting the PDN data type field to “IPv4” or“IPv6” or “non-IP”, as appropriate. The MME 116 may then include thedata to be transferred in a CIoT data field and encapsulate the CIoTdata container IE in the Generic message container IE of the DOWNLINKGENERIC NAS TRANSPORT message, with the Generic Message Container Typeset to “CIoT data message container” and pass the NAS message to thelower layer.

In this embodiment, upon receiving encapsulated NAS message, the UE 110may respond according to data type. If an SMS message is received in theDOWNLINK NAS TRANSPORT message, the EMM entity in the UE 110 may forwardthe contents of the NAS message container IE to the SMS entity. If aDOWNLINK GENERIC NAS TRANSPORT message is received with the GenericMessage Container Type set to “Small Data message container”, the EMMentity in the UE 110 shall forward the CIoT data field of the GenericNAS message container IE of DOWNLINK GENERIC NAS TRANSPORT message tothe application.

In this embodiment, if subsequent uplink data transfer is needed afterreceiving the encapsulated downlink NAS messages, the UE 110 mayencapsulate the subsequent SMS or IP or Non-IP data in the NAS message,for example, as described above. If the data type is “IPv4” or “IPv6” or“non-IP”, the UE 110 may indicate SSD-IND and SSD-REL-S1 releaseassistance information in the CIoT data container IE.

Embodiment—Attach Procedure for CIoT EPS Optimization Services

When a UE 110 is not attached to the network, the MME 116 does not havecurrent location information of the UE 110. The MME 116 may have priortracking area (TA) information but not a current location of the UE 110with an accuracy of a cell. In the event that a UE 110 is not attachedfor EPS services, an attach procedure may be performed, for example asdescribed below.

FIG. 11 illustrates a message flow diagram of an attach method 700according to one embodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, UE 110, a CIoTdevice, communicates with MME 116 by sending an attach request message740. If the UE 110 supports CIoT optimizations and requests the use ofCIoT optimizations, the attach request message 740 may indicate the UE110's CIoT capabilities and its preferred network behavior, for examplein a preferred network behavior indication information element (IE).This may include the supported type of CIoT optimizations (for exampleeither CP-CIoT or UP-CIoT or both), the preferred optimization usage(CP-CIoT or UP-CIoT), whether SMS without combined attach is requested,whether it supports S1U data transfer, and the data type that it intendsto use for small data transfer (SMS data only or SMS along with IP dataor non-IP data combination). In a preferred embodiment, a UE 110 thatsupports NB-IOT RAT always indicates support for Control Plane CIoT EPSoptimization.

In one embodiment, the attach request message 740 may include one ormore of the following information elements summarized in the followingtable:

Information Element Type/Reference Protocol discriminator Protocoldiscriminator Security header type Security header type Attach requestMessage type message identity EPS attach type EPS attach type . . .Preferred network Preferred network behaviour indication behaviour (akaUE (aka UE network network capability) capability)

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a preferrednetwork behavior indication information element 340 according to oneembodiment. The preferred network behavior indication element 340 mayalso be called a “UE network capability” and may apply the values givenin the following table:

Control Plane CIoT EPS optimization indicator (CP-CIoT) (octet 3, bit 1)Bit 1 0 Control Plane CIoT EPS optimization not supported 1 ControlPlane CIoT EPS optimization supported User Plane CIoT EPS optimizationindicator (UP-CIoT) (octet 3, bit 2) Bit 2 0 User Plane CIoT EPSoptimization not supported 1 User Plane CIoT EPS optimization supportedPrefer control Plane CIoT EPS optimization indicator in EPC(PREF-CP-CIoT) (octet 3, bit 3) Bit 3 0 Control Plane CIoT EPSoptimization not preferred 1 Control Plane CIoT EPS optimizationpreferred S1-U Data transfer (S1U-DATA) (octet 3, bit 4) Bit 4 0 S-1-Udata transfer not supported 1 S1-U data transfer supported SMS withoutcombined attach for CIoT (SMS-CIoT) (octet3, bit5) Bit 5 0 SMS withoutcombined attach is not requested 1 SMS without combined attach isrequested (Note 1) SMS data only indicator (SMS-data-only) (octet3,bit6) Bit 6 0 Data transfer is not limited to SMS data 1 Data transferis limited to SMS data IP data type (IP-data) (octet3, bit7) Bit 7 0 IPdata type is not requested 1 IP data type is requested Non-IP data type(Non-IP-data) (octet3, bit 8) Bit 8 0 Non-IP data type is not requested1 Non-IP data type is requested Note 1: SMS without combined attachmeans to request SMS services for EPS attached UE 110.

When the MME 116 or equivalent network node receives and processes theattach request message 740, it may either accept or reject the request.In either case, the MME 116 sends an attach response message 745 (seeFIG. 9), as will be described in more detail below.

In an embodiment, when the UE 110 has not requested CIoT optimizationsby including the preferred network behavior indication IE in the attachrequest message 740, the MME 116 may send attach response message 745 asan ATTACH ACCEPT together with an ACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXTREQUEST message contained in an ESM message container informationelement to activate the default bearer and establish an ECM connection.The network may also initiate the activation of dedicated bearerstowards the UE 110 by invoking the dedicated EPS bearer contextactivation procedure.

When the UE 110 has requested CIoT optimizations by including apreferred network behavior indication IE in the attach request message740, and if the MME 116 supports one or more CIoT optimizationsrequested and decides to accept the attach request, the MME 116indicates the MME 116's CIoT capabilities and accepted network behaviorin the supported network behavior indication IE in the attach responsemessage 745.

In an embodiment, the supported network behavior indication IE includesthe supported type of CIoT optimizations (either CP-CIoT or UP-CIoT orboth) and the accepted optimization usage (CP-CIoT or UP-CIoT). If theUE 110 supports only CP-CIoT optimization or the UE 110 supports bothCP-CIoT and UP-CIoT but prefers to use CP-CIoT or the UE 110 supportsboth CP-CIoT and UP-CIoT but does not support S1U data transfer, and thenetwork supports CP-CIoT optimization, the MME 116 may indicate CP-CIoTas accepted optimization usage in the supported network behaviorindication IE. If the UE 110 supports only UP-CIoT optimization or theUE 110 supports both CP-CIoT and UP-CIoT but prefers to use UP-CIoT, andif the network supports UP-CIoT optimization, the MME 116 shall indicateUP-CIoT as accepted optimization usage in the supported network behaviorindication IE.

In one embodiment, an attach response message 745 accepting the attachrequest may include one or more of the content summarized in thefollowing table:

Information Element Type/Reference Protocol discriminator Protocoldiscriminator Security header type Security header type Attach acceptmessage identity Message type EPS attach result EPS attach result . . .Supported Network Supported network Behaviour behaviour information(a.k.a., information (a.k.a., EPS network feature EPS network support)feature support)

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a supportednetwork behavior indication information element 350 according to oneembodiment. The supported network behavior IE may also be known as anEPS network feature support. It is used to indicate to the UE 110 theset of CIoT optimization features that are supported by the network andthe accepted CIoT optimization behavior. In some embodiments, thesupported network behavior IE is a type 4 information element with alength of 3 octets. The supported network behavior indicationinformation element 350 may include the values given in the followingtable:

Control Plane CIoT EPS optimization indicator (CP-CIoT) (octet 3, bit 1)Bit 1 0 Control Plane CIoT EPS optimization not supported 1 ControlPlane CIoT EPS optimization supported User Plane CIoT EPS optimizationindicator (UP-CIoT) (octet 3, bit 2) Bit 2 0 User Plane CIoT EPSoptimization not supported 1 User Plane CIoT EPS optimization supportedCP-CIoT accept indicator (CP-CIoT-ACC) (octet 3, bit 3) Bit 2 0 CP-CIoTnot accepted 1 CP-CIoT accepted UP-CIoT accept indicator (CP-CIoT-ACC)(octet 3, bit 4) Bit 2 0 UP-CIoT not accepted 1 UP-CIoT accepted SMSwithout combined attach accept indicator (SMS-CIOT-ACC) (octet 3, bit 5)Bit 5 0 SMS without combined attach not accepted 1 SMS without combinedattach accepted SMS data accept indicator (SMS-DATA) (octet 3, bit 6)Bit 6 0 SMS data transfer not supported 1 SMS data transfer supported IPdata type accept indicator (IP-DATA) (octet 3, bit 7) Bit 7 0 IP datatype not accepted 1 IP data type accepted Non-IP data type acceptindicator (NON-IP-DATA) (octet 3, bit 8) Bit 8 0 Non-IP data type notaccepted 1 Non-IP data type accepted

FIG. 14 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 750 foran attach procedure for short messaging service (SMS). In an embodiment,the UE 110 may request SMS service only and CP-CIoT service limited toSMS data. The UE 110 may generate and transmit an attach request messagethat indicates SMS-data-only (Step 755). For example, the attach requestmay include an EPS attach type of EPS attach, a UE 110 networkcapability that include CP-CIoT, and an addition update type of “SMSonly” to signal to the network that the UE 110 is only requesting SMSservice and small data transfer is limited to SMS data. The UE 110 mayalso indicate “SMS without combined attach requested” when the UE 110does not need SMS services through combined attach. The attach requestmessage 740 may omit an ESM message container IE to avoid establishmentof a default PDN connection. Preferably, the attach request 740 does notinclude a “Voice domain preference” and UE 110′s “usage setting” IE ifthe Attach Request is sent on an NB-IoT RAT.

In an embodiment, the MME 116 supports SMS service without combinedattach (step 760). Then in response to the UE 110 requesting “SMSwithout combined attach”, the MME 116 transmits an attach accept messagethat indicates SMS service without combined attach is accepted (step765). For example, the attach accept message may include that SMS forEPS only without combined attach is accepted in a supported networkbehavior indication IE. The attach accept message may include an EPSattach result IE that indicates EPS only, an EPS Network Feature Supportthat includes CP-CIoT support and an additional update result thatincludes an SMS only support.

When the UE 110 requests data transfer for “SMS-data-only”, the MME 116does not establish a default PDN connection. The MME 116 may ignore thePDN CONNECTIVITY REQUEST message, if any, that is included in the ESMmessage container IE in the ATTACH REQUEST message. In an embodiment,the supported network behavior indication IE also preferably includes avalue indicating whether IP data type or non-IP data type is acceptable.The MME 116 224 may indicate “IP data is not accepted” and “non-IP datatype is accepted” in the Supported network behavior indication IE.

Note that in a case where the UE 110 requested “SMS without combinedattach” and SMS in MME 116 feature is not supported by the MME 116, theMME 116 may still provide SMS service using SGs if SGs interface isavailable and SMSoSGs is supported over SGs. Whether SMSinMME 116 orSMSoSGs is used for providing SMS service is transparent to the UE 110.

If the UE 110 does not indicate in its request that data transfer is for“SMS-data-only” and “IP-data” type is requested, the MME 116 may includean ACTIVATE DEFAULT EPS BEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message contained in theESM message container information element in the attach response messageto activate the default bearer. If a PDN CONNECTIVITY REQUEST messagewith PDN type indicating “IPv4” or “IPv6” or “IPv4v6” is included in theESM message container IE in the attach request message, the MME 116shall indicate in response “IP data type is accepted” in the supportednetwork behavior indication IE.

In this embodiment, if the attach request message 740 does not include aPDN CONNECTIVITY REQUEST message in an ESM message container IE, the MME116 shall not establish a PDN connection as part of the Attachprocedure. If SCEF interface is supported, the MME 116 may establishdata connection through SCEF for IP data type as and indicate “IP dataaccepted” in a supported network behavior indication IE.

When the UE 110 does not indicate data transfer is for “SMS-data-only”and “non-IP-data” type is requested, the MME 116 may respond as follows.When a PDN CONNECTIVITY REQUEST message with PDN type indicating“non-IP” is included in the ESM message container IE in the attachrequest message 740, the MME 116 may include an ACTIVATE DEFAULT EPSBEARER CONTEXT REQUEST message contained in an ESM message container IEin the attach response message 745 accepting the attach request toactivate the default bearer. The MME 116 shall indicate “Non-IP datatype accepted” in a supported network behavior indication IE.

When a PDN CONNECTIVITY REQUEST message is not included in an ESMmessage container IE in the attach request message 740, the MME 116shall not establish a PDN connection as part of the Attach procedure. Ifan SCEF interface is supported, the MME 116 may establish a dataconnection through SCEF for a non-IP data type and indicate “Non-IP dataaccepted” in the supported network behavior indication IE. The MME 116shall also indicate “EPS only” in an EPS attach result IE in the attachresponse message 745.

If the UE 110 is in NB-S1 mode, then the UE 110 shall set the controlplane CIoT EPS optimization bit to “control plane CIoT EPS optimizationsupported” in the UE 110 network capability IE of the ATTACH REQUESTmessage. If the UE 110 is in NB-S1 mode, supports NB-S1 mode only, andrequests to attach for EPS services and “SMS only”, the UE 110 shallindicate the SMS only requested bit to “SMS only” in the additionalupdate type IE and shall set the EPS attach type IE to “EPS attach” inthe ATTACH REQUEST message. If the UE 110 supports CIoT EPSoptimizations, it shall indicate in the UE 110 network capability IE ofthe ATTACH REQUEST message whether it supports EMM-REGISTERED withoutPDN connection. If EMM-REGISTERED without PDN connection is notsupported by the UE 110 or the MME 116, or if the UE 110 wants torequest PDN connection with the attach procedure, the UE 110 shall sendthe ATTACH REQUEST message together with a PDN CONNECTIVITY REQUESTmessage contained in the ESM message container IE. If EMM-REGISTEREDwithout PDN connection is supported by the UE 110 and the MME 116, andthe UE 110 does not want to request PDN connection with the attachprocedure, the UE 110 shall send the ATTACH REQUEST message togetherwith an ESM DUMMY MESSAGE contained in the ESM message containerinformation element.

Embodiment—Attach Reject

In some instances, an attach request may be rejected by the network. TheMME 116 transmits an attach response message 745 to the UE 110indicating that the attach request is rejected. The attach responsemessage 745 may also include an indication of a reason for therejection.

For example, when the attach request is rejected due to a PDNCONNECTIVITY REQUEST message where the UE 110 did not request CIoToptimizations by including the preferred network behavior indication IEin the attach request message 740, the MME 116 may send the attachreject in the attach response message with an EMM cause set to “ESMfailure”.

If the attach request message 740 does not include a request for CIoToptimizations in the preferred network behavior indication IE and theMME 116 cannot support any of the CIoT optimizations requested, the MME116 shall reject the UE 110's attach request with the EMM cause set to“CIoT optimization not supported”. For example, this EMM cause is sentto the UE 110 when the UE 110 has requested CIoT optimizations but theMME 116 does not support the requested CIoT optimizations.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 770 foran attach procedure for short messaging service (SMS). Similar to FIG.14, in an embodiment, the UE 110 may request SMS service only andCP-CIoT service limited to SMS data. The UE 110 may generate andtransmit an attach request message that indicates SMS-data-only (Step775). However, in this embodiment, the MME 116 does not support SMSservice without combined attached (Step 780). The MME 116 transmits anattach response that indicates the attach request is rejected (Step785). The attach response may include that an EMM cause IE indicatingunsupported CIoT Optimizations. The attach response may further includean EMM extended cause IE indicating that SMS only without combinedattach is not supported. When the MME 116 supports other types of CIOToptimizations, the attach response may further include a network featuresupport IE indicating support of, e.g. CP-CIoT.

FIG. 16 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method 800for an attach procedure for short messaging service (SMS). Similar toFIG. 14, in an embodiment, the UE 110 may request SMS service only andCP-CIoT service limited to SMS data. The UE 110 may generate andtransmit an attach request message that indicates SMS-data-only (Step810). The MME 116 does not support SMS service without combined attached(Step 815). The MME 116 transmits an attach response that indicates theattach request is rejected (Step 820). The attach response may includean EMM cause IE indicating unsupported CIoT Optimizations. The attachresponse may further include an EMM extended cause IE indicating thatSMS service is not available. When the MME 116 supports other types ofCIOT optimizations, the attach response may further include a networkfeature support IE indicating support of, e.g. CP-CIoT.

FIG. 17 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method 800for an attach procedure for short messaging service (SMS). Similar toFIG. 14, in an embodiment, the UE 110 may request SMS service only andCP-CIoT service limited to SMS data. The UE 110 may generate andtransmit an attach request message that indicates SMS-data-only (Step850). In this embodiment, the MME 116 does not support CP-CIoT services(Step 855). The MME 116 transmits an attach response that indicates theattach request is rejected (Step 860). The attach response may includean EMM cause IE indicating unsupported CIoT Optimizations. The attachresponse may further include an EMM extended cause IE indicating thatCP-CIoT is not supported. When the MME 116 supports other types of CIOToptimizations, the attach response may further include a network featuresupport IE indicating support of, e.g. UP-CIoT.

When the UE 110 receives an EMM cause value that the MME 116 does notsupport a CIoT optimization, the UE 110 may reject the PLMN selection.The UE 110 may enter a state of EMM-Deregistered and perform a PLMNsearch to select another PLMN that may support the desired CIoToptimization.

If EMM-REGISTERED without PDN connection is supported by the UE 110 andthe MME 116, the MME 116 receives an ATTACH REQUEST message with an ESMmessage included in the ESM message container information element, andthe ESM sublayer in the MME 116 detects a message error, the MME 116 maydecide to proceed with the attach procedure or to reject it. Whensending the ATTACH ACCEPT or ATTACH REJECT message to the UE 110, theMME 116 shall include the ESM message provided by the ESM layer in theESM message container information element.

FIG. 18 illustrates a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method 900for a service request procedure for short messaging service (SMS). Theattach procedure is performed as described with respect to FIG. 14 forEPS attach for CP-CIoT services and SMS only data (Step 905). The UE 110then enters the idle mode (EMM-IDLE) (Step 910). In the EMM-IDLE mode,the UE 110 does not have an RRC connection, e.g. the UE 110 does nothave an established signaling connection to the network (Signaling radiobearer SRB) or data radio bearer (DRB). The UE 110 receives pending SMSdata. The SMS data may be generated by a CIoT application or other userapplication in the user data plane. The UE 110 initiates a servicerequest procedure by transmitting a control plane service request to theMME 116. The UE inserts the SMS data into an information element in thecontrol plane service request. The information element may be a messagecontainer for SMS only data or another type of information element. TheUE may set a service type value to indicate mobile originating SMS(MO-SMS) transfer. The UE 110 may also set the UE network capability toindicate SMS without combined attach. The UE 110 transmits the servicerequest message to the MME 116 using the NAS control signaling protocol(Step 915). The MME 116 receives the control plane service requestmessage. The MME may forward the SMS data to a node including a ServiceCapability Exposure Function (SCEF) or to an SMS processing node (STEP925). The MME 116 may also send a control plane acknowledge (CP ACK) tothe UE 110 to acknowledge receipt of the control plane service request(Step 920). The UE 110 then enters an EMM-registered state (Step 930).

Embodiment—User Plane CIoT EPS Optimization

An enhancement that has been specified as part of User Plane CIoT(UP-CIoT) EPS optimizations is that an RRC connection between a UE 110and eNodeB may be suspended and resumed. In LTE an RRC connection isusually released after 10 to 20 seconds of inactivity. Another RRCconnection procedure has to be performed to establish a new RRCconnection when new IP packets arrive from higher layers of the protocolstack. Generally, this is not a problem when the amount of data that istransferred exceeds this overhead. However, releasing an RRC connectionand then performing another RRC connection process to establish a newRRC connection is burdensome to transfer just a few bytes of data by aCIoT enabled UE 110. In an embodiment, the context of an RRC connectionis preserved and the RRC connection is suspended rather than releasingit.

Embodiment—Header Compression for CIoT

Robust overhead compression (ROHC) for Cellular IoT for NB-IoT servicesvia control plane optimization may be implemented by the UE 110 and theMME 116. The UE 110 and the MME 116 support robust header compression(ROHC) framework if control plane CIoT EPS optimization is supported forPDN connections of IP PDN type. For uplink IP data, UE 110 implementsROHC compressor, and MME 116 implements the ROHC decompressor. Fordownlink IP data, MME 116 implements the ROHC compressor, and UE 110implements the ROHC decompressor. The uplink and downlink ROHC channelsare bound by UE 110 and MME 116 to support ROHC feedback. Theconfigurations for the header compression are established during the PDNconnection establishment procedure.

FIG. 19 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of userequipment (UE 110) 110. The UE 110 may include any type of CIoT enableddevice, including a sensor, medical device, RFID tag or a user device,such as a phone, tablet, watch, laptop, or other type of processingdevice. The UE 110 described herein is for illustrative purposes only.The UE 110 components are exemplary and additional or alternativecomponents and functions may be implemented. In addition, one or more ofthe functions or components shown herein may not be present or may becombined with other components or functions.

The UE 110 includes a processing device 1102 and a memory device 1104that stores operational instructions that when performed by theprocessing device 1102 may perform one or more of the functionsdescribed herein with respect to the UE 110. For example, the memorydevice 1104 may include instructions and data that when used by theprocessing device 1102 processes functions of a protocol stack,including the NAS layer 1150, Radio Resource Control (RRC) 1152, PacketData Convergence Control (PDCP) 1154, Radio Link Control (RLC) 1156 andMedium Access Control and physical layer functions 1158. For the ControlPlane CIoT EPS optimization, data exchange between UE 110 and an eNB isdone on the RRC level and between the UE 110 and MME 116 is done at theNAS level. In addition, the UE 110 may also include a UICC 1134 thatincludes a USIM 1132.

The UE 110 may further include a Bluetooth transceiver 1112, a WLAN(IEEE 802.11x compliant) transceiver 1114, and global positioningsatellite (GPS) transceiver 1118. The WLAN transceiver 1114 may operateas a non-3GPP access interface to a cellular network. The UE 110 alsoincludes an RF transceiver 1116 compliant with Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network(UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), LTE-Advanced(LTE-A) or other wireless network protocols. The UE 110 includes RXprocessing circuitry 1138 and TX processing circuitry 1140.

The UE 110 may further include user applications 1132, AC adapter 1122,battery module 1124, USB transceiver 1126 and Ethernet Port 1128. The UE110 may further include one or more user interfaces 1120, such a digitalcamera, touch screen controller, speaker, microphone or display 1142.The UE 110 may also include a power management unit 1130 and batterymodule 1124. The UE 110 may also include a CIoT Application 1140 thatgenerates user data, such as SMS data, IP data or non-IP data. One ormore internal communication buses (not shown) may communicatively coupleone or more of the components of the UE 110.

FIG. 20 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of anexemplary MME 116. The MME 116 described herein is for illustrativepurposes only. One or more of the functions or components shown hereinmay not be present or may be combined with other components orfunctions. Additional components or functions may also be included. TheMME 116 includes a processing device 1202 and a memory device 1204 thatstores instructions that when performed by the processing device 1202may perform one or more of the functions described herein with respectto the MME 116. For example, the memory device 1204 may includeinstructions and data that when used by the processing device 1202processes functions of a protocol stack, including the NAS layer 1220,S1 Application Protocol (S1AP) 1222, IP layer 1224 and Layer2/Layer1functions 1226. For the Control Plane CIoT EPS optimization, dataexchange between the UE 110 and MME 116 is done at the NAS control planelevel.

The MME 116 includes a Network Interface 1206, transmit (TX) processingcircuitry 1208, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 1110. The Networkinterfaces 1206 is configured for communicating with one or more eNodeBs106 and core network nodes (such as SCEF 132 or S-GW 118 or P-GW 130).The network interface 1206 may include one or more types of transceivers1214, including an RF transceiver 1216, or one or more types of ports,such as Ethernet port 1218.

The dynamic PCDP integrity protection described herein for user planedata provides integrity protection based on real time conditions ordetected potential attacks. The embodiments described herein defineappropriate trigger conditions to enable the integrity protection basedon radio bearer characteristics, such as QCI values. The embodimentsalso disable PDCP integrity protection dynamically to more optimallycontrol consumption of resources.

A processing device as described herein includes at least one processingdevice, such as a microprocessor, micro-controller, digital signalprocessor, microcomputer, central processing unit, field programmablegate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logic circuitry,analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device that manipulatessignals (analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of the circuitryand/or operational instructions. A memory device is a non-transitorymemory device and may be an internal memory or an external memory, andthe memory device may be a single memory device or a plurality of memorydevices. The memory device may be one or more of a read-only memory,random access memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, staticmemory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or anynon-transitory memory device that stores digital information.

As may be used herein, the term “operable to” or “configurable to”indicates that an element includes one or more of circuits,instructions, modules, data, input(s), output(s), etc., to perform oneor more of the described or necessary corresponding functions and mayfurther include inferred coupling to one or more other items to performthe described or necessary corresponding functions. As may also be usedherein, the term(s) “coupled”, “coupled to”, “connected to” and/or“connecting” or “interconnecting” includes direct connection or linkbetween nodes/devices and/or indirect connection between nodes/devicesvia an intervening item (e.g., an item includes, but is not limited to,a component, an element, a circuit, a module, a node, device, networkelement, etc.). As may further be used herein, inferred connections(i.e., where one element is connected to another element by inference)includes direct and indirect connection between two items in the samemanner as “connected to”.

Note that the aspects of the present disclosure may be described hereinas a process that is depicted as a schematic, a flowchart, a flowdiagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchartmay describe the operations as a sequential process, many of theoperations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition,the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminatedwhen its operations are completed. A process may correspond to a method,a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a processcorresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return ofthe function to the calling function or the main function.

The various features of the disclosure described herein can beimplemented in different systems and devices without departing from thedisclosure. It should be noted that the foregoing aspects of thedisclosure are merely examples and are not to be construed as limitingthe disclosure. The description of the aspects of the present disclosureis intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of theclaims. As such, the present teachings can be readily applied to othertypes of apparatuses and many alternatives, modifications, andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In the foregoing specification, certain representative aspects of theinvention have been described with reference to specific examples.Various modifications and changes may be made, however, withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as set forth in theclaims. The specification and figures are illustrative, rather thanrestrictive, and modifications are intended to be included within thescope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the inventionshould be determined by the claims and their legal equivalents ratherthan by merely the examples described. For example, the componentsand/or elements recited in any apparatus claims may be assembled orotherwise operationally configured in a variety of permutations and areaccordingly not limited to the specific configuration recited in theclaims.

Furthermore, certain benefits, other advantages and solutions toproblems have been described above with regard to particularembodiments; however, any benefit, advantage, solution to a problem, orany element that may cause any particular benefit, advantage, orsolution to occur or to become more pronounced are not to be construedas critical, required, or essential features or components of any or allthe claims.

As used herein, the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” “comprising,”“having,” “including,” “includes” or any variation thereof, are intendedto reference a nonexclusive inclusion, such that a process, method,article, composition or apparatus that comprises a list of elements doesnot include only those elements recited, but may also include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, composition, or apparatus. Other combinations and/ormodifications of the above-described structures, arrangements,applications, proportions, elements, materials, or components used inthe practice of the present invention, in addition to those notspecifically recited, may be varied or otherwise particularly adapted tospecific environments, manufacturing specifications, design parameters,or other operating requirements without departing from the generalprinciples of the same.

Moreover, reference to an element in the singular is not intended tomean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “oneor more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refersto one or more. All structural and functional equivalents to theelements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosurethat are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill inthe art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intendedto be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element isintended to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) as a“means-plus-function” type element, unless the element is expresslyrecited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim,the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”

1. An apparatus, comprising: a wireless transceiver configured tocommunicate with a network; and processing circuitry including at leastone processing device and at least one memory device, wherein at leastthe processing circuitry or the wireless transceiver is configured tocause the apparatus to: enter into an idle state without an establishedsignaling connection to the network; obtain pending user data fortransmission; insert the user data into a control plane service requestmessage; and transmit the control plane service request message to thenetwork using a control signaling protocol.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein at least the processing circuitry or the wireless transceiver isconfigured to cause the apparatus to: generate a subsequent downlinkdata indication; and insert the subsequent downlink data indication inthe control plane service request message.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the subsequent downlink data indication indicates that nosubsequent downlink data is expected.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the subsequent downlink data indication indicates thatsubsequent downlink data is expected.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein at least the processing circuitry or the wireless transceiver isconfigured to cause the apparatus to: generate a service typeindication; and insert the service type indication in the control planeservice request message.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein theservice type indication indicates that the control plane service requestmessage is initiated for a mobile originating request.
 7. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein at least the processing circuitry or the wirelesstransceiver is configured to cause the apparatus to: insert anindication of a user data type in the control plane service requestmessage, wherein the indication of the user data type indicates at leastIP data or non-IP data.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at leastthe processing circuitry or the wireless transceiver is configured tocause the apparatus to: provide a Radio Resource Control establishmentcause and a call type indication when sending the control plane servicerequest message to the network, wherein the Radio Resource Controlestablishment cause indicates mobile origination data and the call typeindicates originating calls.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein atleast the processing circuitry or the wireless transceiver is configuredto cause the apparatus to insert the user data into the control planeservice request message by: inserting the user data into a datacontainer information element in the control plane service requestmessage.
 10. An apparatus, comprising: a network interface configured tocommunicate with user equipment (UE) over a network using a controlplane signaling channel; and processing circuitry including at least oneprocessing device and at least one memory device, wherein at least theprocessing circuitry or the network interface are configured to causethe apparatus to: receive a control plane service request message fromthe UE over the control plane signaling channel when the UE is in anidle state without an established Non-Access Stratum signalingconnection to the network; extract user data from the control planeservice request message; and forward the user data to another apparatusin the network.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein at least theprocessing circuitry or the network interface are configured to causethe apparatus to: extract a subsequent downlink data indication from thecontrol plane service request message received from the UE.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein at least the processing circuitry or thenetwork interface are further configured to cause the apparatus to: enda signaling plane session with the UE in response to the subsequentdownlink data indication indicating that subsequent downlink data fromthe UE is not expected.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein at leastthe processing circuitry or the network interface are further configuredto cause the apparatus to: retain a signaling plane session with the UEin response to the subsequent downlink data indication indicating thatsubsequent downlink data from the UE is expected.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein at least the processing circuitry or the networkinterface are further configured to cause the apparatus to: extract aservice type indication from the control plane service request message;extract a data type indication, when present, from the control planeservice request message; and when the service type indication indicatesa mobile origination request service type, determine to forward the userdata based at least on the data type to the another apparatus in thenetwork.
 15. User equipment (UE), comprising: a wireless transceiverconfigured to communicate with a network; and processing circuitryincluding at least one processing device and at least one memory device,wherein at least the processing circuitry or the wireless transceiverare configured to cause the apparatus to: enter into an idle statewithout an established signaling connection to the network; obtain shortmessage service (SMS) data for transmission; insert the SMS data into acontrol plane service request message; and transmit the control planeservice request message to the network using a control signalingprotocol.
 16. The UE of claim 15, wherein at least the processingcircuitry or the wireless transceiver are further configured to causethe UE to: generate a service type indication in the control planeservice request message.
 17. The UE of claim 16, wherein at least theprocessing circuitry or the wireless transceiver are further configuredto cause the UE to: provide a Radio Resource Control establishment causeand a call type indication when sending the control plane servicerequest message to the network, wherein the Radio Resource Controlestablishment cause indicates mobile origination data and the call typeindicates originating SMS.
 18. The UE of claim 15, wherein at least theprocessing circuitry or the wireless transceiver are configured to causethe UE to insert the SMS data into the control plane service requestmessage by: inserting the SMS data into a Non-Access Stratum datacontainer information element in the control plane service requestmessage.
 19. An apparatus, comprising: a network interface configured tocommunicate with user equipment (UE); and processing circuitry includingat least one processing device and at least one memory device, whereinat least the processing circuitry or the network interface is configuredto cause the apparatus to: receive from the UE a control plane servicerequest message including SMS data over a control plane signalingchannel, wherein the UE is in an idle state without an establishedNon-Access Stratum signaling connection to the network; extract the SMSdata from the control plane service request message; and forward the SMSdata to another network node.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein atleast the processing circuitry or the network interface is configured tocause the apparatus to extracting SMS data from the control planeservice request message by: extracting the SMS data from a Non-AccessStratum data container information element included in the control planeservice request message.